


Altea Zoo

by Jenniwrites, Your_Friendly_Neighborhood_Pigeon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Animals, Gen, Zoo, allura owns the zoo, coran is like the manager, they all take care of certain animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 00:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11657949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenniwrites/pseuds/Jenniwrites, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Your_Friendly_Neighborhood_Pigeon/pseuds/Your_Friendly_Neighborhood_Pigeon
Summary: Five semi-normal days at Altea Zoo





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, so I joined the Voltron Gen mini bang!  
> My partner for this event is Jenni and you can find their art [here](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/post/163610711211/i-had-the-pleasure-of-drawing-the-paladins-as-zoo)  
> I encourage you to check it out because she's really talented!  
> Also, while writing, I hit a major writer's block and had to force myself to write, but even then, I hope that you enjoy this because I worked really hard!

Keith closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. He takes a couple more moments to stand in front of the fan in the back, sighing as it cools him down. The heat is unbearable, and he doesn’t understand why anyone is even at the zoo on a day like today. Well, it _is_ the start of summer break for most schools, so he guesses he can understand. But a zoo? Don’t get him wrong, he loves animals as much as the next guy-- hello, he _works_ at a zoo-- but he would never go to one in this heat. That is, unless he’s scheduled to work.

 

Of course he’s scheduled to work. He works almost every day, no matter what the weather is like. The only time he gets breaks are when holidays come up and he’s able to request time off. Even then, he hates leaving the zoo. No one understands exactly how to take care of his babies. They always do something wrong, and frankly? He worries for every single one of his children.

 

Speaking of which…

 

Keith turns around, gently removing the lid to one of the snake cages. This isn’t where she normally sleeps, no, it’s just where she stays during opening hours so that he can take her out for when one of his talks come around. It’s way too small to be her normal cage.

 

He carefully takes the venomous snake out, smiling as she lazily lifts her head and pokes her tongue out. “Hey there, Red,” he whispers, turning around. He can hear the kids shuffling around in the front room, most likely gazing at the many lizards, snakes, turtles, and other animals that occupy the place.

 

“You better behave, alright?” He scolds lightly.

 

When they first got the [ Caucasus Viper ](https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3341/3412705186_4d13bce5f4.jpg) , they were told that the species is endangered. It broke Keith’s heart, because the snake is _gorgeous._ The first couple of days was a bit tense, trying to get her to open up and well, _not_ bite anyone. She opened up slowly, trusting Keith and letting him manhandle her when necessary. She didn’t become part of his daily talk until a few months later. Sadly, though, the kids are only able to look at her and not pet her. Allura scolded him the first time because apparently Red could bite someone _(even though she’s an angel!)_ , and Allura wouldn’t want anyone to sue the zoo.

 

So, it became Keith’s job to make sure she got her daily loving.

 

Stepping out into the front room, one of the kids gasps dramatically. Keith can’t help but chuckle lightly, stepping up in front of the large wall full of snake facts. The kids instantly surround him, gawking at Red.

 

Clearing his throat, Keith offers up a nervous smile. Really, he should be used to speaking by now, but he’s still so nervous. “Hello,” he starts, “and welcome to the Reptile House. My name is Keith, and this little lady here is Red.”

 

 

* * *

 

Keith carefully slips Red back into her cage, smiling softly as she slithers off to go do her own thing. After he safely places the lid back on the cage, he turns around and walks over to another cage. The kids always eat up his spill on snake facts, and they love hearing about what they eat and do. Just, they also want to _touch_ the snakes. Which is where Rain comes in.

 

Reaching into the cage, he grunts as he lifts the [ Rainbow Boa ](https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/62219597/q%3D80_m%3D1500/63f4fd97d2dced3d89eac06fe647bedb) into his arms. She lazily travels up his arm, around his neck and back around again to hang around him like she’s some sort of scarf. Chuckling lightly, he shuffles back out to the main room.

 

“Alright,” he says, kneeling down so the children can reach him better. “Don’t be too rough or anything, alright? Be very, very gentle. Rain is a sweetheart, but even sweethearts can snap, so I wouldn’t test anything.”

 

It’s like flies dive bombing toward rotten food. The kids instantly surround him, tiny hands reaching out to run down Rain’s scaly skin. He has to remind them multiple times to calm down and be gentle, but hey, no one is screaming and no one is trying to yank her away from him. It could be worse.

 

He sighs heavily as some mothers walk up, begging to take a picture. He nods, because he doesn’t want any complaints sent to Allura. A mad Allura is not a fun Allura.

 

He tilts his head to the side, black hair neatly falling slightly in his face. Lifting a hand, he pokes under Rain’s chin, getting her to lift her head up for the photo. One of the kids eagerly steps forward, raising a tiny hand and placing it behind her head. He faces the camera, giving his mother a toothy smile. Keith simply huffs out a small laugh, offering up a presentable smile.

 

“Oh, thank you so much!” She breathes out, smiling down at the photo. Keith simply waves his hand, moving to take another photo with another girl. The woman isn’t done talking, however. “I’m sorry to continue to bother you, but do you have any opinions on where we should go next? I checked the map, but I just can’t make up my mind!”

 

Keith waits for the little girl to skip away toward her mother before turning back to the woman. Humming in thought, he tries to remember today’s schedule. A small grin spreads across his face, and he stands up, dusting his hands off on his tacky pants.

 

“What time is it?”

 

“Oh, um, almost noon?” She supplies.

 

“Great, if you can get to the penguin exhibit before then, then you’ll get to see Lance feed them.”

 

Her eyes light up at just the mere thought of watching penguins get fed. Keith would’ve honestly reacted the same if this was his first time at a zoo, but it’s not. Even though he’s probably seen every animal get fed and has gotten to pet every single animal, it still fascinates him to watch. Animals are just very interesting.

 

“Thank you so much, I think we’ll go do that!”

 

Keith nods as a reply, turning back to take a picture with another little boy and girl. The woman calls for her son, scooping him into his arms and swiftly leaving the Reptile House to go to the penguins. Keith sighs as the door stays open. They should really fix that small problem.

 

After the kids scurry back to their parents, he gazes out of the corner of his eye to study Rain. She’s probably exhausted now. Excusing himself, he moves to close the door before slipping away into the back room to carefully place her back into her cage.

 

Closing the lid, he smiles and turns around. “Alright, Red, what should…”

 

His face grows pale, mouth falling open. Her cage is opened, the lid being pushed aside easily. Panic courses through his veins like a wildfire, and he quickly places a hand to his face, trying to think of what he did wrong. He’s _always_ careful! He always remembers to keep the lids tightly closed!

 

Jaw dropping slightly, he takes his hand away from his face. He didn’t put the latch on. _Fuck._ He was so focused on getting Rain out for the kids that he totally forgot to flip the latch onto it. He _knew_ they needed new cages, because things like this could happen! He _told_ Allura and Coran, and what did they say?! _‘Oh, well, the jaguar needs to go on a new diet, he’s getting kind of chubby. Oh, Lance needs more fish for his otters. Pidge needs new gloves for her show. We have no money to spare for new cages when those ones are still in shape.’_

 

Of course they don’t listen to the reptile expert. He knew these tiny cages would be easy to get out of if the latch broke...or was not put in place. Okay, so maybe this is his fault, but he can share the blame with both Coran and Allura.

 

Running a hand through his hair, he sighs. After checking every nook and cranny inside the Reptile House, he lets himself sag down into a chair in the back room. She could be literally anywhere, holy shit. What if she gets out of the zoo? It’s very likely, even if they are all the way across the zoo from the entrance. She’s fast and can easily stick to the grass as she wanders about aimlessly.

 

“Shit,” he breathes, anxiously tugging on his hair. She’s probably scared! She...oh god. What if she bites someone?

 

 _No,_ he thinks, _Red is too nice and gentle for that. She would never._

 

But...there’s no telling what she could do if she gets scared.

 

Okay, he has this. He technically only needs to be in the Reptile House for feeding time, and for his talks. He has an hour until his lizard talk, so...he better fucking hurry.

 

Eyes narrowing, he ties his hair back into a bun and stomps out of the employee only room. He’s a man on a mission, and heat be damned, he _will_ find his snake.

 

* * *

 

Awkwardly leaning his elbows onto the counter of the Refreshments and Ice Cream plaza-- also known as R&I--he offers up a tense smile. “Hey, Plaxum,” he says.

 

“Oh, Keith,” she says back, looking up from her phone. He decides not to get onto her. She brushes some of her long bleached hair behind her ear, kind eyes holding nothing but curiosity. “You’re early today, did something happen? Do you want your drink already?”

 

Keith laughs nervously, elbows sliding on the counter, causing his body to slowly move forward a bit. “Er, no, uh. Nothing’s wrong. Just...have you seen any animals today?”

 

Plaxum raises an eyebrow. Her eyes trail to the door, gaze landing on the monkey enclosure that’s right across the way from the plaza. She turns her attention back to Keith, a _‘are you being serious?’_ look plastered to her face.

 

“Okay, that was a bad way to word that, I agree. Have you seen any animals that _aren’t_ in their cages?”

 

Again, her eyes look out the glass door. She points. “There’s some pigeons out there.”

 

Keith takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. Alright. So this shows that she hasn’t seen anything suspicious...glancing down at her phone, he clears his throat. “Were you talking to Florona?”

 

Plaxum looks off into the distance dramatically, sighing softly. “Yes, because my love is all the way across the zoo at the Snack Shack and, oh, how I miss her dearly--”

 

“You saw her this morning.”

 

Plaxum laughs, shaking her head. “Yeah, I was, why?”

 

“Did she happen to comment about anything unusual…?”

 

Plaxum narrows her eyes, humming in thought. “No, she didn’t. What are you hiding?”

 

Keith pushes himself off the counter, brushing his sweaty palms down his pants. “Ahaha...nothing...um. I better. Yeah, go. Thank you, Plaxum!” And before she can utter out another word, he waves and twirls around, speed walking out of the plaza.

 

Stepping out into the unbearable heat, he lets his shoulders sag. Ten minutes down. This will be a long hour.

 

* * *

 

With thirty minutes left, he hears his walkie talkie buzz. He winces at the sound, quickly unclasping it from his belt.

 

“Keith? Yo, answer me you little shit.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes. He would ignore her, but that would raise suspicions. “Uh, hey, Pidge, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

“None of that bullshit,” she snaps, and he can hear the annoyance laced in her voice. He suddenly knows for a fact that he’s screwed.

 

“Whatever I did, I promise it wasn’t actually me--”

 

“Why did I just see a red snake slither by casually?”

 

Keith feels his blood run cold. He was hoping to find Red and just...not tell anyone about this. Looks like that’s not going to happen. “Um, she...kind of...escaped?”

 

“Keith!”

 

“Shit, I know, I’m working on it! Did you get her?”

 

He hears a sigh from her end. “No, I was focused on making sure no one saw her because I didn’t want anyone to freak out. Anyway, what the _hell?”_

 

“I know, I know...I’ve been looking for like thirty or so minutes now.”

 

Pidge goes silent on her end for a moment before the static from the walkie talkie crackles, ruining the silence. She decides to finally speak up again. “I’ll help you out, but you owe me.”

 

Keith breathes out heavily, not realizing he was holding his breath. “Thank you, Pidge.”

 

“Yeah, yeah...I have nothing to do until my next show, anyway.”

 

“Keep me updated?”

 

“Yup, of course. And don’t worry, I won’t tell Allura, I’m not that mean.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“No problem. Alright, see you later, over and out.”

 

Keith looks around in distress, blinking rapidly. Red could be anywhere, and she could’ve easily gone back to a place he’s already been to. God, she has a huge lecture for when he finds her. Clipping his walkie talkie back to his belt, he turns on his heel and stomps away.

 

* * *

 

He has to stop twenty minutes later to head back to the Reptile House. He steps into the air conditioned place, easily welcoming the cool air. He knows he doesn’t have a lot of time left, so he quickly rushes into the back room. After chugging down some water and wiping down his face, he walks out of the back room and into the main room.

 

There, he smiles at the people visiting the zoo and motions toward the [ Bearded Dragon ](http://rivista-cdn.reptilesmagazine.com/images/cache/cache_6/cache_e/cache_a/bearded-dragon-care-5001-4d13fae6.jpeg?ver=1486972064&aspectratio=1.5923566878981) cage. He steps up to it, looking down at the three lizards napping under their heat lamp. He chuckles at the cuteness of it all, carefully removing the lid. He reaches under the counter, pulling out their food.

 

“Alright,” he starts, turning to the crowd. “I’m going to feed them, but afterward I’ll take one out so y’all can see it better.”

 

He picks up one of the mealworms, wrinkling his nose as it wiggles around frantically. He drops it into the cage. Grabbing some more of the worms, he drops enough for each lizard. They attack the small worms with violent force, obviously excited for their daily feeding. Once he decides that they’ve had enough, he closes the lids on the mealworm containers and sets them aside.

 

He’ll give them lettuce and some fruit later, but it’s in the back room and he forgot to grab it before coming out. So, he reaches down into the cage, scooping up the first lizard his hand comes in contact with. The lizard sits lazily on his palm, tiny legs hanging off the side. Keith holds his hand out, showing the reptile to the crowd. He watches as they all stare with wide eyes.

 

“You can pet him, but be gentle, alright?”

 

As multiple kids step up to run their finger down the lizard’s spiky and rough back, he begins to talk. He tells them everything he knows about the species, telling them what they eat and how they take care of them here at the zoo. He goes as far as telling the crowd that they make _great_ pets.

 

He chuckles to himself as one of the little girls tugs on their dad’s arm, exclaiming about how she wants one. He watches as the dad sighs, shaking his head.

 

It’s not bad, and once his time is up, he excuses himself. Turning back to the cage, he places the lizard back into it, patting his head for good measure. He needs to get back out to search for Red, and that was his last talk for the day.

 

He can always come back to finish feeding the rest of them.

 

* * *

 

Moving the walkie talkie to the right channel, Keith steps back out into the burning heat. He stays in the Gift Shop’s shade for a moment longer, waving goodbye to Shay before he shuffles along.

 

“Pidge, you got anything?”

 

There's a crackle, and then Pidge’s voice comes through. “Don't be mad, but both Hunk and Lance know now.”

 

Keith pauses, jaw dropping. “ _What?!_ ”

 

“Yeah,” she laughs nervously, “Red happened to go by both of therm already. Frankly, you're lucky Allura and Shiro haven't seen her yet.”

 

Keith groans, running a hand down his face. This is such a  mess. “So, I'm guessing no luck, huh?”

 

“No, sorry, but hey! Hunk and Lance are on the lookout as well. The more the merrier.”

 

Keith nods even though he knows she can't see it. “Alright, thank you, Pidge.”

 

“No problem. I'll continue looking, but I got a show in about twenty minutes.”

 

“Okay, good luck.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“No problem. Over and out.”

Putting the walkie talkie away, he hums as he looks around. If he were a snake, where would he go? Seeing as how it's really hot today, she most likely will be somewhere with a lot of shade in attempt to cool down.  Maybe try to find some water. The  problem is, there's shade almost everywhere. There's a fountain at the center of the zoo, and there's water over where the otters are. Oh god, what if she tries to eat an otter?! Can snakes even eat them?!

_Calm down, she already ate today. There's no reason for her to go and eat  someone._

 

He continues his trek around the zoo, narrowly dodging Shiro as he walks by. Diving behind a bush, he narrows he eyes and refuses to move until the older worker is out of sight.  He refuses for Shiro to see him, because he knows he'll ask questions. Keith never leaves the Reptile House during the day unless it's to get food or to help someone else out. Him out walking about it already way too suspicious.

 

Stepping out of the bush, he keeps his eyes peeled for anything red and long. Before he knows it, he finds himself at the small aquarium the zoo has, meant for the fish and stingrays. There's no way she could be in there, but…there is water…and she does like sitting in her water bowl.

 

“She's not in there.”

 

Keith would deny the loud squeak that leaves his lips later. He turns to glare at Lance. “What the hell, man?”

 

He laughs, waving his hand. “I just checked in there, so don't worry. I also checked the otters, penguins and flamingos.”

 

Keith closes his eyes, nervously biting down on his lip. This is hopeless, isn't It? He's never going to find his child, the zoo is way too big. She's going to die, or bite someone, or get injured. Maybe he should tell Allura… she'll be mad but maybe she _will_ help.

 

Shaking his head, he racks his brain for any idea of where she could be. She's never goes outside the Reptile House unless she's going to the Med Bay to get a check up. But if she went there, then Coran or Slav would've already seen her and contacted him.

 

Placing his hand on the wall, Keith hunches over, worry washing over him. He puts his other hand over his face, trying to block out the sunlight a bit. Red must be so scared. If she bites someone, then the zoo may get sued, and they may have to...get rid of her...and he doesn’t want that. It’s _his_ fault and she shouldn’t be punished for something he did.

 

Keith nearly jumps out of his skin as Lance squeezes his shoulder. “Hey, man, don’t give up. We’ll find her.”  
  
Keith looks up. He’ll deny the tears forming in his eyes if Lance even thinks about asking. “Why are you all helping me? Wouldn’t you just...jump at the chance to rat me out…?”

 

Lance laughs at that, removing his hand from Keith’s shoulder. He then crosses his arms, blue eyes shining with understanding. “We all love the animals here, Keith. Maybe I don’t love Red as much as you do, but if I were to lose one of the otters or penguins, then I’d want someone to help me. Plus, you’re our friend, why wouldn’t we help?”  
  
Keith goes silent, staring at him with furrowed eyebrows. Nodding slowly, he looks down at his shoes. “I hope she’s okay.”

 

Lance pats his back. “Me too, buddy, me too.”

 

* * *

 

Lance is the one to hear it first. He stops, causing Keith to run right into him. He grunts, insult on the tip of his tongue, but pauses. They both turn around, watching as Hunk screams and dances around a bush by the giraffe enclosure.

 

“Do you think…?” Lance starts, watching as Hunk lifts his walkie talkie up to his mouth.

 

“Guys! I found her! And she's not- _oh my god please spare me-_ happy!”

 

Keith rushes forward, reaching Hunk’s side within seconds. There, hissing up a storm and threatening Hunk, is Red. Keith could honestly cry right now.

 

“Red!” He breathes out, anxiously moving Hunk backwards. She's poisonous, so he needs to be careful. Gently, he gets down on his knees, not caring that the grass will probably stain his pants. “Hey, girl,” he whispers.

 

Red freezes at the sound of his voice, tongue flicking out as she studies him. Somehow, it seems to do the trick. She slithers out from the bush, going right up to Keith. Sticking his hand out, he holds his breath. Either she'll bite him, or crawl up his arm. He's hoping for the latter.

 

Thankfully, she does. She boops the palm of his hand with her nose before lifting her body, slithering up his arm and stopping once she's curled around his neck. Keith let's out a sigh of relief.

 

“Well,” Lance chuckles, “that could've been way worse.”

 

* * *

 

They quietly make their way back to the Reptile House, making sure to contact Pidge on the way. She tells them that she’ll meet them there, and then they crept along the edges of the zoo, trying to stay out of sight.

 

Well, nothing ever goes according to plan anyway.

 

“Um, guys?”

 

Lance shrieks, Hunk goes stiff, and Keith feels his soul leave his body. In sync, they all slowly turn around, eyes landing on Shiro. He stands in all his glory, eyebrows raised in question, head tilted to the side.

 

“Why do you have Red all the way out here?”

 

Keith laughs nervously, glancing at Hunk and Lance. “Red? Huh? I don’t have Red, nope, no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

“Keith, I’m missing an arm, not my eyes.”

 

Keith nervously strokes Red’s head, trying to think of an excuse.

 

“Keith thought it’d be nice if Red got out more!” Hunk blurts out. Honestly, thank god for him. “Red needs to stretch her...body…”

 

Shiro places a hand to his forehead and sighs heavily. “That’s some excuse, but whatever, I’ll let it pass. Just get her back to the Reptile House before she hurts anyone.”

 

The words instantly make Keith bristle. “Red wouldn’t hurt anyone! You know that!”

 

“Keith, I know, but she’s still a poisonous animal. There’s no telling what she could do if angered or frightened. We can’t take risks, especially when the zoo is still open.”

 

Spinning on his heel, Keith huffs and stomps away. Shiro opens his mouth to say something, but falls short and instead sighs again. He turns his attention to Hunk and Lance. “He’ll calm down later, but he better be glad I’m not Allura.”

 

“Uh, yeah. Well, anyway, gotta...go after him…” Lance says awkwardly, shuffling back a couple steps before turning and jogging after Keith. Hunk holds up a finger to comment, but then clamps his mouth shut and shrugs before going after the other two.

 

Shiro watches with a confused look plastered to his face, blinking in surprise as Red lifts her head and turns to glare at him. He didn't even know a snake could look so disappointed in somebody.

 

* * *

 

“What a trouble maker, huh?” Pidge chuckles, patting Red’s head gently. Keith rolls his eyes, deciding not to comment on the fact that the reptile nearly made him cry and have a heart attack. He moves to her big cage, the one with more space so she can move around. Opening it, he lets her climb down into it. After taking care of her, he walks over to Rain’s cage and does the same for her.

 

“You know, these latches _are_ very weak. Allura should think about replacing them,” Hunk comments, studying the day cages.

 

“Trust me, I’ve tried,” Keith says, grabbing some pre-cut fruit and lettuce from the fridge. Stepping out into the main room, he flicks Lance’s forehead to get him to step away from the turtle cage. Lance pouts, but steps back so that Keith can feed them.

 

After feeding the rest of the animals, he dusts his hands off on his grass stained pants and leads the way back into the employee only room.

 

Pidge instantly turns to him, placing her hands on her hips. “You owe us so fucking much. I’m going to make sure you pay me back.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes, hopping up on the counter. He levels Pidge with a serious look. “Yeah, I won’t forget. Thank you for helping me,” he pauses to look at Lance and Hunk, “thank _all_ of you for helping me today, it means a lot.”

 

“Awww, Keith is thanking us? Is Keith, perhaps, _grateful?”_

 

Keith grabs a dirty washcloth, tossing it at Lance’s face. Lance squeals, diving behind Hunk to dodge the offending material.

 

He can’t help but laugh, a soft smile spreading across his face. He really does owe these guys for helping him find Red, and he seriously can’t thank them enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenni's Tumblr: [Paladinspride](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Jamie's Tumblr: [alien-space-mom](http://alien-space-mom.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

Pidge has never felt more anxious. Sure, she does shows almost every day and she knows the birds are nice and won't hurt her, but she _always_ has Matt on hand with her. He usually hands out the papers when people enter the outdoor stadium and he's the one who stands by the cages and let's the birds out when it's time.

 

She has never done a show without him, which is why she happens to be so nervous right now.

 

“You'll do fine, Pidge.” Allura says gently, placing a comforting hand to her shoulder. Pidge wants to snap at her and tell her that _no_ , _it_ won't _be fine,_ but she holds her tongue and keeps quiet because this is her boss.

 

“I can't do it alone,” she mumbles, kicking lightly at the carpet. Will they have to cancel the show? She really doesn't want to. The birds actually enjoy all the attention they get.

 

“Well, we can always cancel--”

 

“No,” Pidge says curtly, clearing her throat. “I'll find someone to help.”

 

Before Allura can argue, she turns tail and bolts. She'll just have to find the schedule and see who happens to be free during show times  today.

 

Grumbling under her breath as she gazes at the schedule, she vows to murder her brother for falling ill today.

 

* * *

 

Pushing the door open, she dodges a child and makes her way through the many different cages. She finds Keith hunched over the turtle cage, smiling to himself as he feeds the big turtle a strawberry. There’s a little girl watching with wide eyes, hopping from foot to foot as she watches the turtle take a huge bite.

 

Clearing her throat, Pidge chuckles as Keith jumps, dropping the strawberry into the cage. The turtle instantly stretches its neck out, chomping into it.

 

“Jesus,” Keith breathes out, turning to fully face her. “What do you--”

 

“Pidge, actually. But I’m glad you see me in such light.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes, trying to push away the amused smile threatening to spread across his face. “What do you want, Pidge?”

 

“You have no talks scheduled today.”

 

Keith raises an eyebrow. “Your point?”

 

“Matt had to stay home today, and I need help with my shows.”

 

Keith feels as if the floor opens up from beneath his feet. He already knows what’s coming.

 

“You still owe me a favor…”

 

“Pidge, please--”

 

“So I want you to help me, unless you want me to tell Allura about the incident a couple weeks ago…?”

 

He knows she’s bluffing. Knows that she’d never really do that. But he _does_ owe her, so he can’t really just say no and walk away.... “Fine.”

 

“Great! Let’s go!”

 

* * *

 

Pidge leads the way over to the sea life, causing Keith to frown. “Didn’t you say I was helping with the bird show?”

 

“Yeah, I did.”

 

“Then what are we doing to here? Did you mean the penguins? I thought Lance did the penguins?”

 

Pidge rolls her eyes, huffing as she turns to give Keith a _‘are-you-serious-right-now’_ look. “I’m asking him for help as well.”

 

“Oh,” Keith mumbles, “why?”

 

“Because Matt usually helps me, but he’s a professional. You and Lance are not, thus it'll be harder to work the show since you’re an ametuer. So, you’ll need all the help you can get.”

 

“...are you getting Hunk or Shiro as well?”

 

Pidge shakes her head. “No, and trust me, they were my first options, but they both have things planned today.”

 

Crossing his arms, Keith chooses to fall silent. He doesn’t particularly hate working with Lance-- they actually tend to work quite well with each other. It’s just, Lance sometimes doesn’t know when to stop. Keith wouldn’t say he’s annoying, or a bad person, he’s...a bit too much sometimes for someone like Keith. That doesn’t mean Lance and him aren’t friends, though. Of course they are.

 

“You’re making me work with my rival?!”

 

Even if Lance doesn’t want to admit it.

 

“You worked perfectly well with him the other week when you helped him look for Red,” Pidge says, huffing in annoyance. “You can’t pretend to hate him forever.”

 

“I don’t hate Keith,” Lance says, walking out into the open. He lifts his gaze, eyes falling on Keith. “We just happen to be rivals!”

 

“Then why’d you help him?” Pidge counters, making her way to the front of the group so she can lead the way toward where the bird show will take place. Lance stutters, trying to come up with something as he slowly falls into step beside Keith.

 

“...For Red! I couldn’t just sit by when I knew there was an animal in potential danger!”

 

“Why can’t you just admit that we’re friends?”

 

“Because I don’t want to.”

 

Pidge and Keith both roll their eyes simultaneously.

 

* * *

 

Pidge shuffles around the back room, humming under her breath as she checks all the cages. They don’t feed the birds that will be shown beforehand seeing as how she uses treats to get them to corporate better, so she doesn’t have to worry about the feeding until after the show. She does check each and every one for anything out of the ordinary. If they show signs of suddenly being sick, or if they somehow got themselves hurt, then she needs to be able to notice that so that she can pull them from the show so they don’t get worse.

 

Once she goes through her checklist, she hums and straightens up, grunting as her back pops. “Alright, losers--”

 

“Hey!” Lance gasps, placing a hand to his chest.

 

“She’s not wrong, Lance. Just let her speak.”

 

Lance crosses his arms, but stays silent.

 

“Keith, when I give the signal, I want you to open the cages. The birds know what to do, so they’ll come to me.” She then turns to Lance, reaching over to the table to grab an armful of flyers. She then dumps them into his arms. “You’re going to hand these out, and you will stand around and make sure no one does anything wrong while the show is going on.”

 

“What, but that’s so boring!”

 

“Deal with it.”

 

“Why can’t I handle the birds?”

 

“Keith is horrible with questions that don’t have to do with his reptiles.”

 

“Hey!” Keith says, furrowing his eyebrows together, lip jutting out into a pout.

 

“She’s not wrong, Keith,” Lance mocks, smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Just let her speak.”

 

Keith glares, but before they can continue the argument, Pidge clears her throat. “Lance, you’re really good with people, and Keith can handle it if one of the birds decides to attack him. Please just deal with it, because we have five minutes until show time.”

 

“Alright, alright, you’re lucky I like you,” Lance says with a small, teasing smile.

 

* * *

 

Peeking out from the back of the stage, Pidge watches as Lance hands out flyers to the audience. On the flyers, in big letters, is Altea Zoo on top. Underneath lists out the types of birds they shelter here, and a couple of facts about each one. Frankly, there’s many bird species, so there was no way to fit every single bird on there, so only the ones who take place in the show appear on it.

 

Letting the curtain fall, Pidge ties her hair back, placing her tan hat with _Altea Zoo_ plastered on the front of it on. She’s decked out in her normal zoo uniform, green khakis with a white button up. Keith is in almost the same, just black khakis instead of green.

 

“You ready Keith?”

 

He looks up from studying the cages, eyebrows furrowing together. “I think so.”

 

“Great,” Pidge winks dramatically, patting down her shirt before she whirls around and steps out of the back. She hears Lance shushing the audience as she steps onto center stage.

 

Scanning the many people watching, she can’t help but smile. She’s glad so many people are interested in birds. “Hello,” she greets, putting on her best smile, “And welcome to Altea Zoo’s Bird Show!” Her voice echoes around the stadium, bouncing off the walls so everyone can hear. “Today, we’ll start out with my good friend, Green.”

 

She holds her hand out, fully prepared for a [ Thick-billed Parrot ](http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/thick-billed-parrot)to come fluttering onto her arm. Instead, a small Peacock struts onto the stage, looking around with wide eyes. Pidge nearly face palms.

 

“Or, we will start out with Frank,” she says to the crowd, shaking her head. She thought Keith could handle this. _Hunk definetly could do this_ , she thinks as she squats down next to the Peacock.

 

“So,” Pidge starts, “this here is Frank. He’s one of our oldest and most beloved Peacocks in the zoo. Did you guys know that they’re actually called Peafowl, and that only the males are truly seen as Peacocks? The females are Peahens, and the babies go by Peachicks. How interesting is that?” She pauses to gently pat Frank’s head, only to get no reaction out of him.

 

Standing up, she takes a step back, a fond smile on her face as she glances down at Frank. She then clears her throat, giving Frank the sign to show the audience his trick. Instantly, he puffs out his chest and spreads his feathers. The beautiful green and blue create a mesmerizing picture, making the crowd ‘ooo’ and ‘ahh’.

 

“Alright, say goodbye to Frank!” Pidge says, and the crowd gives a half-hearted goodbye to the bird as he saunters off the other side of the stage. Pidge sighs. He was supposed to go back to Keith. Luckily, though, she catches Lance slipping away to go help in the back.

 

“Okay, now, let’s see Green,” she says, glancing to the curtain where the bird should come out of. Thankfully, this time, a green parrot flies out. Pidge quickly holds out her arm, smiling as the bird lands on her arm.

 

“This here is Green, a Thick-billed Parrot. She was raised here in our zoo, and has lived here all her life.” She holds her arm up higher, facing the audience. Green chirps, tilting her head to the side as she crawls up Pidge’s arm and up to her shoulder.

 

 

* * *

 

“Which one is the [ Eurasian Eagleowl ](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/eurasian-eagle-owl-parent-in-ground-nest-high-res-stock-photography/537009403?esource=SEO_GIS_CDN_Redirect)?!” Lance hisses,, looking back to the stage. Pidge is eagerly spewing out facts about the hawk she has out at the moment. They’re lucky they even let out the correct bird. There’s only one more bird left for the show, and that’s Gary the Eurasian Eagleowl.

 

“I really, really--” Keith pauses, glancing at Pidge, “--don’t know. Fuck, she’s almost done, what are we going to do?!”

 

Lance checks all the cages, humming under his breath. “We can’t do this.”

 

“Lance, calm down, we got this.”

 

“There’s like, fifty owls here! How does she keep track of them?!”

 

Keith taps his finger on his leg, eyebrows furrowing together. “Maybe...we should try saying his name? These birds know their names, don’t they?”

 

Lance nods. “Good idea, okay…” he takes a deep breath, facing the cages with the owls. “Um, here Gary? Little Gary? Hello?”

 

Five of the owls all making quiet hooting noises, turning their heads to stare at the two employees.

 

“We should get Hunk.”

 

“And Shiro.”

 

“Like, right now?”

 

“Right now.”

 

Lance nods, diving for his walkie-talkie. Keith does the same.

 

Swiping his walkie-talkie up, Lance clears his throat and presses down on the button. “Hunk? Hello? Come in?”

 

On the other side of the room, Keith contacts Shiro. “Hello, Shiro, come in? This is an emergency!”

 

“What is it? Is someone hurt? An animal?”

 

“Oh, thank god, Shiro,” keith breathes out, turning to give Lance a thumbs up. Taking a look back at the stage, he watches as Pidge finishes up her speech. Shit. “We don’t have much time, do you know anything about birds?! What does a Eurasian Eagle Owl look like?!”

 

“Keith, are you serious? This is not an emergency.”

 

“Yes it is, Shiro!”

 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know, can I get back to my job now?”

 

“Shiro, please, this is a matter of life or death.”

 

“Keith, I think you’re overreacting. Ask Hunk.”

 

“Shiro, come on-- Shiro? Please, oh my god. If I die this is on you!” He then turns back to Lance, eyes wide. Lance heaves out a heavy sigh, lowering his walkie-talkie.

 

“He won’t answer,” Lance explains, welcoming their fate.

 

“...I have an idea, Lance, okay? It’s crazy, but it’s the only thing we have.”

 

Lance sets down the walkie-talkie, giving Keith a serious look. “I’ll do anything at this point.”

 

* * *

 

Pidge watches the hawk disappear back to where Lance and Keith are waiting. It’s been an okay show so far. Luckily, they’ve gotten all the right birds and haven’t made too big of a mess. Of course, she never should hold onto the faith that they could handle this task. Actually, maybe she should have done a step-by-step walk through of each bird. Maybe she should blame herself.

 

“Okay, last of our feathery friends is Gary the Eurasian Eagleowl,” she announces, smiling out at the crowd. She turns to the curtain, fully expecting a large brown owl to swoop in. Instead,  about six different owl comes flying out from back stage. Her eyes grow wide, and she takes a small step back in surprise.

 

After all the owls are let out, _all_ the birds are let out. They fly around the stage and land on the perches she has, and some even go out to the audience and land on the benches and some trees. Pidge takes a deep breath before calmly throwing the curtain aside. Lance and Keith both look up, guilty expressions filtering across their face.

 

“I’m going to fucking kill you both.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenni's Tumblr: [Paladinspride](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Jamie's Tumblr: [alien-space-mom](http://alien-space-mom.tumblr.com/)


	3. Chapter 3

Lance grunts as he lifts the bucket full of live fish. Stumbling over to the door, he lifts his leg to kick the it open-- which ends up nearly hitting Shiro in the face.

 

“Whoops, sorry man!” He says loudly, stepping to the side so the older employee can enter.

 

“Uh, you need help with that?” Shiro questions, glancing at the fish bucket. Lance simply shakes his head, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He does this every day to take care of his children, and Shiro still doesn’t think he can carry this to the [ otter ](http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/otter) habitat? He’s stronger than he looks, and he thought he had proven that by now.

 

“Well,” Shiro calls after him, “be careful!”

 

Lance calls back some gibberish, making his way out of the food warehouse. He sets the fish bucket on the golf cart next to Hunk’s food for his big cats, securing it safely so it won’t fall off. Moving around to the passengers side, he plops down and grins at Hunk.

 

“So, how long until she’s due?” Hunk questions, driving the golf cart toward where to otters live.

 

Lance instantly beams. “Blue is due any day now! I’m so ready, she’s going to be the first otter to give birth here! We’ve never had cute baby otters here before, isn’t that a crime?”

 

Hunk chuckles a bit. “It sure is, man. Blue will make an excellent mother.”

 

“Of course she will! And I’m sure Bubbles will be the best father.”

 

“Do otter dads actually help take care of the babies?”

 

Lance goes silent for a moment, narrowing his eyes in thought. “I have no idea.”

 

* * *

 

Lance waves goodbye as Hunk drives off.. Reaching down, he picks up the bucket of fish and turns on his heel toward the habitat. He first goes to the private one that’s not for the public to see, opening the cage and carefully entering. This is where Blue is staying until she gives birth, seeing as how it has a more secure and comfortable den for her to take shelter in.

 

Whistling, Lance sets the bucket down. Grabbing a fish, he tosses it onto the bank and smiles as Blue waddles over to eat it. He gently pats her head a couple times, giving her some more fish before saying his goodbyes.

 

 

After double checking that he locked the doors, he walks to the main habitat. It’s feeding time, and the zoo is open, so he knows he’ll have an audience. Which he doesn’t mind, of course, but he also has another otter talk scheduled later on in the day, plus he’s constantly worrying about the pregnant otter due any day now. But it’s fine, really, it’s fine.

 

Unlocking the door, he picks the bucket back up and enters the cage. The door clangs shut, and he shuffles toward the edge of the water. He gives a small wave to the audience after setting the bucket back down.

 

“Hello, my name is Lance and I’m the otter expert around here,” he says to the crowd, tossing some fish into the water. Three otters reveal themselves, all of them going crazy once they realize it’s feeding time. Chuckling at the sight, he tosses more into the water. Dipping his arm to the bottom of the bucket, he takes out some clams and tosses them to the otters as well.

 

“If you have any questions about our friendly otters here, I'm sorry but you'll have to wait until later today when I return to do a normal talk. Sadly, right after this, I need to take care of some more business, but I promise I'll be back later today!”

 

Lances makes sure that each otter gets a fair amount of food before deciding that it's time for him to take his leave. he wasn't lying when he said he had more things to do for the day. He still needs to feed the other animals he’d in charge of, plus he promised Shiro he’d help with cleaning the elephant cage, and he told Allura that he’d help Hunk with cleaning up the tiger’s den. Why he promised so many things he’ll never know, but it's not like he truly minds. Working at the zoo is actually a lot of fun.

 

Waving to the crowd, he offers up a huge smiles before turning around to leave. After locking the door, Lance plops down on a bench outside the otter habitat, waiting for Hunk to pick him up with the golf cart.

 

* * *

 

Walking into the small indoor aquarium they have located in the zoo, Lance goes to the giant fish tank. Pulling out his set of keys, he takes the one he colored green with a sharpie and unlocks the employee only door. Stepping in, he shuts the door and climbs up the stairs.

 

At the top is the opening to the giant fish tank. Walking over to the fridge they have, he pulls out the food needed to feed the fish. Grabbing a handful, he steps up to the edge of the water and tosses it end. The fish instantly go for the food like flies to a rotting apple. Lance can’t help but chuckle. It’s always entertaining to watch them eat.

 

Grabbing another handful, he goes to the other side of the tank and tosses more fish in. He repeats the action another couple of times, making sure that all the fish get something or the other.

 

Before he tosses the last handful, his walkie talkie crackles and Coran’s voice echoes around the room. “Lance, my boy? You there?”

 

Throwing the last of the food in, Lance grabs a towel and wipes his hands clean before unclipping his walkie talkie from his belt. “Hey, Coran, what’s up?”

 

“Oh, there you are! Are you busy at the moment?”

 

Lance hums, lifting his arm to check his watch. “Nope, just finished feeding the fish.”

 

“Great! Pidge needs your help with her birds today.”

 

Lance groans, looking up at the ceiling. “I _hate_ working with the birds! Plus, I have to go help Shiro in a bit, then I have to do my talk for the Otters.”

 

“Well, seeing as how you owe Pidge, I’m sure Shiro will understand. Your talk, on the other hand, can always be rescheduled.”

 

Lance juts his lip out, trying not to make a big deal out of this. He does owe Pidge...but he rather clean cages then go anywhere near those birds again. “Alright, alright, tell her I’ll be there shortly.”

 

“Great! Well, bye for now, youngin’!”

 

Lance chuckles again at that, reclipping the walkie talkie to his belt.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Pidge,” Lance says, drawing out the ‘e’.

 

Pidge jerks her head up at the sound of her name. “Lance! Thank god you’re here.”

 

“Yes, I know, I’m a blessi--”

 

“Actually, you’re far from it. Anyway, Matt is out again and Green got sick, so I need help with giving her her medicine.”

 

Lance feels his face go pale. “...who has to hold her?”

 

Pidge gives him a look. “I don’t trust you to stab a needle into any of these birds, so I think that question is obvious.” She then opens the cage in front of her, gently taking the parrot out and handing her to  Lance.

 

Taking the small bird, Lance takes a deep breath. He hates giving animals shots and medicine. Why is Pidge the one giving out the vaccine, anyway? Isn’t Mr.Holt the vet around here? Well...if anyone was to do it, then the vet’s daughter would be the best choice. But still, it’s a little unnerving.

 

“Alright, just hold her tight, but not too tight to hurt her.”

 

Lance nods, turning his face away. “Just do it quickly, okay?”

 

“God, you’re such a baby,” Pidge tsks, shaking her head. “It’s already done, by the way. It doesn’t take long.”

 

“Oh thank god,” Lance whispers, handing the bird back to Pidge. She carefully places the animal back into it’s cage, smiling as she locks it. “So...can I go now?”

 

Pidge crosses her hands. “No, I need help cleaning the cages.”

 

Lance sags his shoulders, sighing pathetically. He had no idea today would be such a downer.

 

* * *

 

Waving goodbye to Pidge, Lance turns on his heel and jogs toward the otter enclosure. He makes it right on time, skidding in front of the glass as the clock strikes four. Smiling, he takes a moment to regain his breath and to quickly wipe some sweat off his forehead.

 

“Hello, everyone, my name is Lance M--”

 

“Lance!” Hunk says loudly, cutting him off as he pushes his way through the crowd. “Blue gave birth!”

 

Lance’s mouth falls open in shock. She wasn’t due for another couple of days, right? He should’ve been there to support and encourage her!

 

“Uh, hey Hunk, can you take over this for me?”

 

Hunk raises an eyebrow. “Me? Talk about otters? I mean, I guess I know a decent amount from working with you, but--”

 

“I have notecards.”

 

“Oh, then yeah, totally, but you owe me one.”

 

“Sure, sure, thanks, man!” Lance says quickly, digging into his pocket. He pulls out a stack of notecards he keeps just in case, and hands them over to his friend. Hunk takes the cards and the microphone, waving half heartedly as Lance races away to the clinic.

 

* * *

 

Lance has never run so fast in his life. Ten minutes later he skids to a stop inside the clinic, smiling at Mr.Holt. He doesn’t even have to say anything. Instantly he’s ushered into the back room.

 

Blue lays on the table, wrapped around a smaller version of herself. Lance gasps, taking a careful step closer to the animal. “Oh my god, she’s adorable!”

 

“He, actually.”

 

“Whatever, this is the best day of my life. I can’t believe I’m a grandpa.”

 

Mr.Holt simply laughs, patting his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenni's Tumblr: [Paladinspride](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Jamie's Tumblr: [alien-space-mom](http://alien-space-mom.tumblr.com/)


	4. Chapter 4

Hunk looks out into the crowd, a wide smile plastered to his face. This is the best part of the job. Well, that’s his opinion, he’s sure Shiro and Keith would not agree with that statement, but he thoroughly enjoys talking to people and telling them all about his huge cat children.

 

“Do you ever get to go in and hang out with them? Like, is that allowed?” A teenager in the audience questions, their eyes practically sparkling.

 

Hunk chuckles. “Usually, no. Most of the animals are kind and wouldn’t hurt a fly on purpose, but that’s the thing, ya’know? They don’t know how big they are, so they don’t know that jumping on you could actually hurt you. Like, if I went to go say hi to the tigers, they might think we’re just playing, but in reality they could hurt me.”

 

He glances over his shoulder, looking at the majestic lion on his rock. The big cat shakes his head, his mouth opening wide in a yawn. “However,” Hunk says, “Yellow, the lion behind me, is a different story. He came to this zoo as an orphan, and I instantly took over his care. He’s like a little baby, honestly, I swear he’s never truly grown up. I can walk into his cage and sit down by him and he wouldn’t lift a paw to hurt me. He’s a big ol’ sweetheart, and he probably treats me like I’m a baby lion because he’s gentle when interacting with me.”

 

Hunk looks away from the lion, facing the crowd once more. Another person raises their hand, and he nods to say they can speak.

 

“Do you enjoy your job? How do you feed the animals if you can’t be too close to all of them?”

 

“Well,” Hunk says, “of course I enjoy my job, I love animals. And, with the feeding, I usually go in there when they’re tired and not as active, or when they’re not near the feeding area. It’s not that hard, honestly.”

 

Lifting his arm, he checks the time and sighs. “Alright, that’s the end, but if you want to hear more from us here at Altea Zoo, I suggest jogging on over to the bird show with Pidge. Her show starts in half an hour,” and with that small farewell, Hunk waves to the crowd and turns his mic off. Stepping away from them, he looks back at Yellow and offers a small wave to him. The lion blinks slowly at him, resting his head on his paws.

 

* * *

 

Hunk enters the pizza shack that Rolo and Nyma run, and he instantly locates his fellow colleagues and makes his way over, plopping down in the seat across from Shiro. He sighs in relief as the cool air envelopes him. “Ah, god bless air conditioner.”

 

Shiro offers up a small smile over his mouthful of pizza. Allura instantly beams. “How did your talk go?”

 

“About the same as always. Fun, hot.”

 

Allura nods, picking up her slice of pizza. “Sounds about right.”

 

“So,” Shiro says, turning the conversation over to something else, “do you know if anyone else is meeting us up for lunch? Or is it just us?”

 

Allura places a hand over her chest, gasping dramatically. “Are we not good enough for you, Shiro?”

 

“Yeah, Shiro, what’s wrong with us?” Hunk adds, trying to keep a serious look on his face. Shiro simply sighs, rolling his eyes.

 

“You know that gets old after awhile, right?”

 

“But it’s fun to tease you,” Allura points out, taking a bite out of her pizza.

 

“Are we teasing Shiro? I’m always up for that.” Pidge says, collapsing into the chair next to Hunk.

 

Shiro gives her a look, narrowing his eyes. “You’re all just bullies. Coran would never treat me like this.”

 

“Are you sure about that?” Allura asks, laughing as Shiro pauses to think it over.

 

Hunk tears his attention away from the conversation, thanking Nyma as she places his normal order on the table. She nods before walking away, heading back behind the counter. Picking up the slice of pizza, Hunk focuses back on the conversation.

 

* * *

 

Quietly walking into the lion habitat, Hunk looks around for his favorite animal in the whole zoo. The smell of beef in the bucket he’s holding should be a good way to announce his presence. A minute later it proves to be accurate as Yellow jogs around the corner, large mane ruffled from the wind. The large cat trots up to Hunk, emitting a purr-like sound.

 

Reaching his gloved hand into the bucket, Hunk tosses a big slab of beef into the air. Yellow catches it easily, eating it within seconds. Chuckling at his eagerness, Hunk carefully dumps the meat into the big food bowl placed in the cage. Yellow practically pounces on the bowl, scarfing down the food like he hadn’t eaten in days.

 

Setting the bucket down, Hunk peels off his gloves and sets them down inside the bucket. Once Yellow finishes his meal, he lifts his head and sniffs the air, checking to see if there’s anymore secretly hidden from him. Stepping up to Hunk, the lion sniffs at him. After a couple minutes of that, Yellow nudges his head against Hunk’s leg, begging for attention.

 

Hunk laughs, reaching out to scratch his head. Yellow pushes against his head, growling lowly. Shaking his head at the cat’s antics, Hunk pats Yellow’s back, giving the big cat the attention it wants.

 

 

“Who’s a good boy? Huh? Who’s my favorite animal, huh? Huh?” He coos, smiling as Yellow begins to make his purr-like sounds again. “That’s right, boy, it’s you!”

  
A crackle from his walkie-talkie has him stopping, and he apologizes before unclipping it from his belt. “Hello?” He questions, petting the lion with his free hand.

 

“Hunk?” Lance says, his voice filled with excitement. “You have to get to the otter exhibit right away!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Do you trust me?”

 

Hunk resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Lance, it’s feeding time for my cats, so this better be important…”

 

“Hunk, I promise you, this is very, very important.”

 

“How important?”

 

“Keith and Shiro are over here.”

 

Hunk pauses before replying. If Lance somehow convinced both of them to step away from their duties for a while, then it must be big. “Fine, I’ll be there in a moment.”

 

* * *

 

Hunk sighs as he pulls up to the otter exhibit, parking quickly. Within moments he’s off the golf cart and at the cage, locating Lance standing by Keith and Shiro. “So, what’s the important thing that is happening at this very moment in time that is pulling me away from my children?”

 

Lance whips around so fast that Hunk is concerned for half a second before he’s blinded by his best friend’s huge smile and sparkly eyes. “Look at her!” He whispers, pointing to where the otters are lazily swimming about.

 

Hunk wants to facepalm, because, _really?_ He came all this way to look at Lance’s favorite otter...okay, he can’t blame the guy. He’s just as bad with his favorite lion.

 

Flicking his gaze to the cage, he’s pleasantly caught off guard. He’s been by the habitat ever since the new baby otter was born, but had never actually seen the thing go swimming by itself. Blue was always there, letting the baby chill on her stomach.

 

Now, however, Hunk can’t help but smile softly at the sight of the otter swimming freely by himself. “Okay, so, maybe this was worth it.”

 

“I know it is!” Lance says, clasping his hands together as he stares at the young pup.

 

Shiro sighs, placing a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Did you really call every single employee out here just to see this? You could’ve recorded it instead of, you know, calling us away from our jobs.”

 

Lance scoffs. “It’s better to see it in person!”

 

“Yeah, it’s cute, but snakes are better,” Keith mumbles, squinting at the cage. Lance gasps.

 

“Okay, I’m out.” Shiro says quickly, swiftly making his exit.

 

“Yeah...I’m not getting into this argument again,” Hunk chuckles, turning around and quickly making his own exit before Lance pulls him into the pointless argument.

 

“Wait, Hunk, come back!” Lance whines, but Hunk hides his smile as he pretends to not have heard Lance.

 

Plus, who are any of them kidding? Lions are clearly the better choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenni's Tumblr: [Paladinspride](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Jamie's Tumblr: [alien-space-mom](http://alien-space-mom.tumblr.com/)


	5. Chapter 5

Shiro stands in the middle of the cage, wiping sweat off his forehead. Of course they choose today of all days to clip back the overgrown greens in the monkey cages. And, of course, he has to do it alone.

 

Really, now that he stands here and clips away at some overgrown branches, Lance and Pidge weren’t scheduled for anything today. He’s, like, seventy-five percent sure of that. Those little shits, they’re lucky he’s too nice to call them out.

 

Shaking his head, Shiro glares at all the green. He has always loved nature...but this makes him love it a little less. He has to give props to gardeners and basically anyone who has to do grunt work with the sun shining down on them the whole time. It’s like hell is slowly engulfing him.

 

The crackle of his walkie talkie is like the sound of an angel coming to deliver wonderful, live changing news. He sets his clippers down, swiping the device up to his face.

 

“Hey, Shiro, you there?” Allura’s voice calls out. He confirms, wiping some more sweat off his brow. “Geat! Well, you’ve been out there for awhile now, so you deserve a break. Also, after you eat and relax a bit, I’ll send Hunk and Coran out with you to finish up, alright?”

 

Shiro sighs in relief. A break sounds wonderful. “Thank you, Allura, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

 

“Well,” Allura says in an amused voice, “wasn’t really an offer, since I’m your boss.”

 

Shiro rolls his eyes. “Alright, ma’am, whatever you say.”

 

When he doesn’t get a reply, he takes that as his cue to get going. Gathering up his tools and water bottle, he stumbles over to the golf cart and piles it all on. Grabbing his hat from where he left it, he slips it over his hair and hops into the driver's side.

 

* * *

 

Shiro collapses into his chair, humming in satisfaction as the air conditioner wraps him up in a nice, cool hug. He’s pretty sure he stinks, but he can’t find it in himself to care.

 

“Hey, Shiro,” Keith says, entering the room with a handful of sandwiches. He tosses one toward the exhausted employee, smacking him in the face. “You smell like shit.”

 

Shiro grunts, picking up the sandwich from where it fell to the floor. Ripping away the paper, he decides to not comment on Keith’s rudeness and instead takes a huge bite out of the food. “Yeah, well, I was outside in the sun for, what? Three hours?”

 

“I’m surprised you’re alive,” Keith says, settling down in the chair across from Shiro. “I don’t know how you do it, though. I mean, the monkeys are usually always outside, so you’re outside almost everyday.”

 

“I can tell you now, it’s not easy, but of course you wouldn’t know.”

 

“How would I not know?”   


Shiro raises an eyebrow, lifting a hand to wave at Shay as she walks in with Plaxum. “You work inside all the time, Keith.”

 

“Ah, right, right. That’s probably why I’m so pale.”

 

Shiro chuckles, rolling his eyes slightly as he takes another huge bite out of his sandwich. “Did you get me another one?”   
  
Keith scoffs, sliding another packaged sandwich across the table. “Of course I did, who do you think I am?”

 

* * *

 

Shiro dumps the mix of ripe fruit and vegetation into the big black bowl, smiling as the monkeys lift their heads, eyes wide as they realize it’s feeding time. It doesn’t take long for one of them to scamper over.

 

The small spider monkey makes a small noise, looking at Shiro before swiping one of the fruits. As fast as it appears, it’s gone, disappearing up one of the trees. Laughing softly, Shiro leans against one of the nearest trees, not moving a muscle as one of the monkeys land on his shoulder.

 

“Hey, Black,” he coos, looking at the young female. He finds it odd that he chose that for her name, but seeing as how it seems to be a common thing to name their favorite after a color. He’s pretty sure Lance started it for some reason...he doesn’t particularly care enough to figure it out.

 

The monkey doesn’t reply, chomping down on it’s food. She’s a polite little thing, making sure to wipe off any crumbs she leaves behind on his shirt. Once Black finishes, she makes a small squeaky sound and climbs down his body, running over to one of her friends.

 

 

“Alright, guess that’s my cue to leave,” Shiro mumbles,walking to the exit. He reaches down for his keys, only to freeze. Slowly turning around, he glares at the female monkey. “Okay, haha, now give me back my keys.”

 

She gives him an innocent look before revealing the keys, giving out a small hooting sound that sounds suspiciously like a laugh. “Black, this isn’t like you at all. Who put you up to this? Was it Pidge? Lance? Don’t tell me it was Allura.”

 

The monkey gives no reply, and instead jumps onto a tree, making her way up to the lowest branch. Shiro groans.

 

Walking to the branch, he looks up at her with narrowed eyes. “Little miss, you better give me those keys back right now.”

 

Black looks down at him, offering a huge smile. She climbs to the next branch. “No! Come back here, right now!”

 

She only grins again, hopping to another branch in the other tree.

 

Unclipping his walkie talkie from his belt loop, he clears his throat. “Hey, Hunk?”

 

It doesn’t take long for the teen to answer. “Yeah, what’s up?”

 

“Black stole my keys, and-- please, don’t laugh-- but I was wondering if you know any way I could get them back? I know you can be pretty stern when speaking to your cats.”

 

“Okay, first, I’m not sorry for laughing. Second, try threatening her.”

 

Shiro gasps. “I can’t threaten my child--!”

 

“No, no, like...just say you’ll remove her favorite fruit if she doesn’t give them back.”

 

Shiro frowns, looking up at the monkey. “Uh, hey, Black, if you don’t give me that back, I’ll remove your fruit from the bowl.”

 

Black narrows her eyes.

 

“You have to mean it, by the way,” Hunk says through the device. Shiro suppresses the urge to whine.

 

Clearing his throat, he straightens his spine, glaring up at Black. Walking over to the bowl, he gathers the remaining fruit into his arms and huffs, making his way to the door. There’s suddenly panicked shrieking behind him, then his keys land in front of him. Smiling in satisfaction, he swipes his keys up and turns to dump the fruit back into the bowl. “Now, see, was that really too hard?”

 

As he leaves, he’s pretty sure he can feel the monkey glaring at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenni's Tumblr: [Paladinspride](https://paladinspride.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Jamie's Tumblr: [alien-space-mom](http://alien-space-mom.tumblr.com/)


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